Kinetic Features of Alpha Particles in a Pestchek-like Magnetic Reconnection Event in the Solar Wind Observed by Solar Orbiter

Abstract

The acceleration and heating of solar wind particles by magnetic reconnection are important mechanisms in space physics. Although alpha particles ( ^4 He ^2+ ) are the second most abundant population of solar wind ions, their kinetic behavior in solar wind magnetic reconnection is not well understood. Using the high-energy (1500–3000 eV) range of the Solar Wind Analyser/Proton–Alpha Sensor instrument on board Solar Orbiter, we study the kinetic features of alpha particles in an exhaust region of a Pestchek-like solar-wind reconnection event with a weak guide field. A pair of back-to-back compound discontinuities is observed in the exhaust region. We find that the plasma in the magnetic exhaust region is heated and bounded by slow shocks (SSs), while the accelerated reconnection jet is bounded by rotational discontinuities (RDs). The SSs are outside the RDs, which is not expected from the magnetohydrodynamical prediction. We suggest this different location of the discontinuities is due to the enhanced parallel temperature T _p _∥ > T _p _⊥ , which reduces the local Alfvén speed in the exhaust region, allowing the SSs to propagate faster than the RDs. Inside the exhaust region, the guide field is dominant. We find a two-population distribution of the alpha particles. These two populations are field aligned downstream the SSs and shift to have a perpendicular offset in the reconnection jet, suggesting that the change of the magnetic field at the RDs has similar timescales with the proton gyroperiod, but faster than those of the alpha particles, such that the alpha particles behave like pickup ions.

Keywords

• Solar wind
• Solar magnetic reconnection
• Heliosphere